Anime: Hokuto no Ken (1986)

-MUST SEE ANIME-

Back in the day when I first saw this, I thought it was amazing. Subsequent viewings at an older age have tarnished my opinion of it somewhat tho.

Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should watch this. It's one of those "must see" animes like Akira, Ninja Scroll, or Ghost In The Shell, in that it sets a benchmark in it's anime style, and any animes viewed thereafter with a similar style should be graded with this in mind.

The visuals seem dated now, but they're perfectly acceptable. There is good detail in the violence, and the post-apocalyptic world has been given care to.

The sound has one of the largest "dated" factors tho. The quality just isn't good enough for todays standard, but with that being said, it's decent for the time the anime was made. The ambience is suitable for the surrounds, and the voice acting and musical score is also satisfactory.

The story is ok, but underdeveloped. I know there's a series of this anime, but I haven't seen it and so can't judge where it fits in to give it any bearing.

The characters however, are best parts of the anime, each with their own skills and techniques. It's just so good to watch them let rip their special abilities on their foes.

In 1987, at barely 13 years of age; I'd seen advertisements and mentions of this movie. So much so, that I decided to go buy this "cartoon" from my local store - making this the first anime film I ever watched, turning "cartoons" into what I now know and love, as Anime.

The first thing that will strike you about this film, is the gore and violence level.
As of the first fight scene, body limbs start flying about the area in a well animated and detailed way.
This is actually where some of the appeal of this film is to be found. Some scenes are really awe inspiring with the sheer detail put into the tearing apart of bodies and resulting bloodbath.
For it's time, Fist of the North Star was very graphic and very violent... coming to think of it - it still is :)
This is also just one of the reasons that made this film, cult.

Tighter plots, have been known to exist - but this film does hold up in that department. The film stays exciting through-out partially induced by the fact that the dialog is not that extensive and the fighting scenes prolific and lengthy (a good thing in this case).

visual
Because of it's age, F.O.T.N.S has a quite 'retro feel'. Most of the characters are drawn extremely tall and thin, with the large males mostly having fairly small heads in comparison to their extremely broad shoulders. This though, I believe is part of it's style.

The scene is mostly set in a post-apocalyptical wasteland - somewhat inspired it seems, by mad-max.
The various foes, are a highlight of this anime and often feel reminiscent of baddies from old console beat 'em ups.
Most of them are extremely large and have a special kind of weapon and/or power.
These "bosses" all make for very charismatic and memorable characters and can still call themselves original.

In summary, the animation of this film is quite extraordinary. The fighting scenes are detailed and constructive and imaginative, when it comes to locations and angles.
If you take into consideration the age of the film, the animation is nothing short of amazing - and it really highlights how ahead of it's time, this anime was.
The backgrounds are very well drawn and in some scenes made me think of Ghost in the Shell - in the way of setting and quality.

sound
I got this film dubbed in english. The voice over's kind of felt a bit tacky but somehow kinda suit the characters.
The original sound though implements some decent life into the movie. Often they really help convey the feeling of power and energy.
The music didn't strike me as being out of the ordinary, or memorable...



| overall |

This film is really a joy to watch. I tend to have to also take into consideration it's now considerable age - It's age also making for part of this movies character and appeal.
If your just looking for an entertaining and epic fighting film, for an easy watch - this film will do you justice, as well as if your looking for visually stimulating flick.
If your looking for a philosophical, "mind heavy" film, then you might want to look else where.
I think this is a definite "must watch" film, even if only once.

"Fist Of The North Star" shouldn't be taken too seriously.

It's more of a "cult"-movie for it's grotesque depiction of violence and absurd character-design.

The fighting scenes are extremely detailed when it comes to the destruction of human bodies. And the amounts of blood flowing from the wounded is sheer impossible. Some call this movie the "Godfather of Violence in Anime", for good reason.

The weak plot doesn't really matter, although the sparse dialogues are good for a couple of laughs, too.

"Fist of the North Star" is fun to watch if you want to get a view into the history of anime.